Colorado
13-3,2-1Pac-12
Utah
10-5,1-2Pac-12
Buffs Roll Past Utah
January 12, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — That's how you protect your home floor.
One week after allowing Oregon State to rally down the stretch and escape from Boulder with a win, Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes left no such opening for Utah. The Buffs were hot from the start Sunday and never cooled off, dominating the Utes from beginning to end in a 91-52 win at the CU Events Center.
The 25th-ranked Buffs improved to 13-3 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12 play while the Utes fell to 10-5, 1-2.
"That was as complete a performance by our team as we've had all year," Boyle said. "It just shows you what the ceiling of this team is going to be, and that's what we're going to need as we go through this league. This team took a step forward tonight and I'm really, really proud of them."
The Buffs did indeed put forth a complete effort on both ends of the floor.
Sophomore Evan Battey and junior Tyler Bey each had double-doubles for the Buffs, with Battey finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season while Bey notched his seventh of the season and 26th of his career with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Point guard McKinley Wright IV flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and no turnovers, and D'Shawn Schwartz added 14 points and five rebounds.
Defensively, the Buffs throttled the Utes, holding the Pac-12's leading scorer, Timmy Allen, to a season-low seven points on 2-for-11 shooting. Allen entered the game averaging 21.1 points per game, with his previous low 14 points.
Utah did not have a player in double digits, as Riley Battin led the Utes with eight points.
The Buffs dominated in virtually every statistical category. CU shot 38-for-64 from the field (59.4 percent) while holding the Utes to just 19-for-54 shooting (35.2 percent). Colorado held a commanding 43-23 rebounding lead, including 14 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second-chance points, and the Buffs committed just nine turnovers while forcing 13 Utah miscues.
"We showed up but we got our teeth punched in," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "That's a veteran team that is very physical. I thought we got exposed in the level of physicality … They wanted it more."
HOW IT HAPPENED: Colorado led from the outset, using a 14-0 run early to push the lead to double digits and extending the edge to as much as 25 before settling for a 22-point cushion at intermission, 44-22. Battey was dominant on the offensive boards in the first half, collecting six offensive rebounds that led to four Colorado baskets.
"Evan Battey was a beast tonight," Boyle said. "I don't know what other adjective I can use for him. He went after every offensive rebound. When he gets the ball in his hands, it's like a vise grip. Nobody's going to take it away from him. He set the tone with our offensive rebound in the first half."
Colorado shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the first half, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range. On the defensive end, the Buffs never let the Utes get untracked, holding the Pac-12's second-leading scoring team to just 33.3 percent shooting (8-for-24). Allen was just 2-for-8 from the field in the half, as Bey and his Buffs teammates harassed him every time he touched the ball.
"Our coaches the entire week kept saying his name," Wright said. "We took it as an individual challenge and as a collective challenge to shut their water off."
Utah's three leading scorers — Allen, Both Gach and Rylan Jones — had combined for more than 50 points in the Utes' first two Pac-12 games. The Buffs held them to a combined 20.
"Tyler showed as good of discipline on Tim Allen as I've ever seen Tyler show," Boyle said. "I thought he was terrific defensively … And McKinley did a great job on Gach and did a really good job on Jones."
With a 22-point lead at intermission, the Buffs made sure to put the game away early in the second half. CU built its lead to 30 less than seven minutes in when a Wright 3-pointer gave Colorado a 61-31 cushion, and the Utes were done for the night.
The Buffs' big lead of the game came in the final minute, when a Dallas Walton basket gave Colorado its final points of the night to wrap up the 91-52 win.
All 15 Buffs in uniform played in the game, with 11 scoring at least one point.
"This is Colorado basketball," Battey said. "It's hard to beat us when were playing like this."
Colorado burst from the gate and never looked back in the first half, using a 14-0 run to build a 16-2 lead less than five minutes in. Battey had three baskets and Wright and Shane Gatling each had 3-pointers in the burst.
The Utes finally stopped the run with three unanswered points, but the Buffs answered again and steadily built the lead the rest of the half. Colorado's margin reached as much as 25 when a Schwartz basket gave CU a 42-17 edge with 2:09 left in the half, and CU still led by 22 at intermission, 44-22.
TURNING POINT: The Buffs put this one away early, using a 14-0 run in the first five minutes to build a double-digit lead that never got back to single digits the rest of the night.
WHAT IT MEANS: Colorado bounced back from a disappointing loss to Oregon State in a big way. The Utes are a young team, but still one that owns wins over Kentucky, Minnesota, Oregon State and BYU. As Boyle noted, the Buffs showed what kind of team they can be when they play well on both ends of the court.
CU STANDOUTS: Sophomore Evan Battey and junior Tyler Bey each had double-doubles for the Buffs, with Battey finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season while Bey notched his seventh of the season and 26th of his career with 11 points and 12 rebounds … Point guard McKinley Wright IV had 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds … D'Shawn Schwartz added 14 points and five rebounds.
KEY STATISTICS: The Buffs held Utah to 35.2 percent shooting, including a 7-point, 2-for-11 night from the Pac-12's leading scorer, Timmy Allen … CU shot nearly 60 percent from the field (38-for-64) … The Buffs held a commanding 42-24 edge on the boards that included 14 offensive rebounds that led to a 14-4 edge in second-chance points … Colorado also forced 13 turnovers and committed just nine, leading to a 23-7 edge in points off turnovers.
NOTEWORTHY: CU's Wright has 36 assists and just seven turnovers in his last four games. "I've just slowed down," Wright said. "I've been slowing down and making the easy play. I've been hitting the first free man and not trying to squeeze passes into small holes." Wright also moved into 26th on CU's all-time scoring list (1,127), passing Spencer Dinwiddie and Burdette Haldorson. Wright also moved into a tie with Marcus Hall for fourth on CU's all-time assist list (423) … The 39-point victory margin was the largest for CU over Utah since a 73-33 win in Boulder on Dec. 31, 2011, in the first Pac-12 game for both schools … The Buffs' 38 field goals are the most in a conference game since hitting 41 in a 105-81 win over Iowa State on Jan. 5, 1991 … The Buffs are shooting 52.6 percent over the last four games (123-234).
QUOTEWORTHY: "The way we're going to make up for the Oregon State game is by going on the road and getting some stuff done. That opportunity comes Thursday in Tempe and then we get another shot on Saturday in Tucson. It's a big road trip for us if we want to compete for a conference championship. You have to be able to win on the road and there's no time like the present." — CU coach Tad Boyle
NEXT UP: The Buffs hit the road next week for a pair in the desert, beginning with a 7 p.m. game Thursday at Arizona State (Pac-12 Network), followed by a 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Arizona (Fox).
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
